


but now you know for sure

by Anonymous



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Clones, Dubious Ethics, Family, Family Dynamics, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Gender Identity, Gender Issues, Good Parent Jango Fett, No Incest, Self-Indulgent, Trans Character, Trans Male Boba Fett, Trans Male Character, Trans Male Jango Fett, forced sterilization mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:13:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23071498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Boba Fett learns a couple of things about himself.
Relationships: Boba Fett & Jango Fett, Boba Fett & Original Clone Trooper Character(s)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 67
Collections: Anonymous





	but now you know for sure

Part of him had always known he was different, he supposed. He had never had a mother. It was always just him and his father, and that was enough. That was _more_ than enough.

It wasn't until he was seven that it was fully brought to his attention.

"Boba!" Jango knelt beside his son and grabbed his shoulder. "Don't wander off like that; you scared me." His fingertips brushed over the wound on Boba's cheek. "What happened?"

"The cadets thought I was one of them," Boba explained. "I got pulled into their training. I'm alright."

Jango frowned. "You can't go wandering too close to their barracks," he said. "Suvarir?"

"Elek, Buir." Boba nodded. He glanced at the clone cadets through the transperisteel window. His own eyes glared back at him, and he shifted uncomfortably. "I'm going back to the room."

"Alright." Jango ruffled Boba's hair. "Love you."

"You too."

Boba shoved his hands into his pockets as he wandered through the halls. He was one of very few who had more or less free reign to traverse the facility. He stopped by the mess hall on his way for a quick snack.

One of the older cadets — probably around eight — cast him a curious look. "Hey, adiik. With the shaggy hair."

Boba glanced up. It wasn't often that the clones addressed him directly.

The cadet approached him, cocking his head to one side. "You one of the Exes?"

"Exes?"

"Defects. Wrong chromosomes." The cadet squatted and looked him in the eyes. "Y'look like an Ex."

The boy scrunched up his nose in confusion.

"Y'wanna know what you're in store for?"

Boba took a bite of his ration bar. He shrugged. "It's not by the barracks, is it?"

"Nah. Medbay. You look like you could use a trip there, anyway."

Boba nodded. "Alright."

The cadet ruffled his hair as he stood. "We got a lookieloo, boys!"

Another cadet groaned. "Again, Rivet?"

"Rivet, give it a rest!"

"Ah, kark off, Jockey. And you know you love 'em, Stickers." The cadet — Rivet — gestured for Boba to follow him. "You got a name, adiik?"

"Boba."

"Really? Hm. Sounds kinda like bubble."

"Oh, don't remind me of Soapbox," Jockey complained.

"He wasn't that bad; he just didn't like you." Stickers elbowed his brother. "Mop-up, Chrome. Come on."

Two other cadets — maybe six years old — glanced up. The first appeared nervous, while the other vaulted over the table, knocking down an empty tray.

"Mop-up, come on," Jockey chastised. "Don't be di'kutla."

Mop-up made an obscene gesture at his older brother. Stickers laughed. He was loud and brash with his brothers as they walked, which clearly irritated Jockey. Rivet busied himself with speaking softly to Chrome and Mop-up.

"Hey, AZI," Rivet said as the six of them entered the medbay. "We're here for our implants."

A medical droid floated over to them as Rivet sat down on a cot. He removed his codpiece and one of his cuisses, then pulled down his blacks to reveal his hip. There was a small, circular tattoo there.

"Does it hurt?" Chrome asked.

"Little bit," Rivet answered. "You get used to it, though. It's not so bad."

Chrome bit his lip. He looked way as a local anesthetic was injected into Rivet's hip, followed by the implantation of a small pellet, about the size of a grain of rice. AZI spread a small glob of bacta over the site.

"I heard Jango has to get these, too," Mop-up said, turning to Stickers. "Is that true?"

Stickers shrugged. "Hell if I know."

"It's just a rumor the other Exes tell each other to make themselves feel better," Jockey said, arms folded across his chest as he approached the cot. "I wouldn't put a single credit on it, personally."

"Boo. You're boring, Jockey." Rivet waited for the bacta to seal the hole in his skin before putting his blacks back into place and re-equipping his armor. "I say it's true."

Jockey smirked, and revealed the same tattoo as Rivet had on his own hip. "In that case, then, I'll bet against it."

"Dickhead."

Jockey shrugged. He winced as the anesthetic was injected. "Still kriffing stings." He said through grit teeth.

Stickers rolled his eyes. "Jockey's a drama queen," he muttered to Mop-up and Chrome. "You barely feel it."

Chrome bit the nail of his thumb. 

"I'll go first," Mop-up said softly. "It's okay."

Chrome nodded. "Alright.

"My turn first, though." Stickers reminded them. He, too, had the circle tattoo. He hissed through his teeth as the needle went in, but didn't react much other than that.

The cot lowered slightly as Mop-up climbed up. He shifted his blacks down the way the other three had. At this point, Boba wasn't surprised to see the tattoo.

"Go for it," Mop-up told the droid. The sharp pain of the needle made him wince slightly, but he gave Chrome a thumbs-up. "'S not that bad," he said reassuringly. "Can't even feel the implant."

"Yeah, you're not supposed to," Stickers said. "It's kinda the point. So if you _do_ feel it, head down here. Might mean something's wrong."

"It can go wrong?" Chrome looked up at Rivet worriedly.

"Yeah, but it's _so_ rare," Rivet said hurriedly. "It's only happened, like, three times that I know of. They're really reliable. Don't worry about it. Stickers' just an idiot."

"Hey!"

"He's got you there," Jockey argued.

Mop-up hopped down. Chrome reached for his hand, and he held it gently. 

"You'll be fine," Mop-up assured him. "It's okay."

Chrome squeezed his brother's hand as the anesthetic went in. He stared at the ceiling as the implant was inserted under his skin.

"See? It's already over." Mop-up clapped his brother's shoulder. "That wasn't so bad, huh?"

Chrome nodded. "Thanks."

"You guys head back," Rivet said to the rest of them. "I'll catch up with you in a minute."

"Laill's gonna be pissed if you're late," Jockey told him.

"Yeah, yeah. Get outta here." Rivet glanced over to Boba, who was now being tended to by the medical droid. "Any questions?"

Boba blinked. He had nothing _but_ questions. "What's an Ex?"

"Oh, right. You're still really young. Only, what, three? Four? They probably haven't bothered telling you yet."

"I'm seven."

Rivet laughed. "Sure. Maybe in here." He poked Boba's forehead. "Exes are what some of the defects call ourselves. It's because we have XX chromosomes instead of XY. Born with the wrong parts, y'know? There are a handful of us who don't bother with the implants, but if you don't, you gotta go into surgery to make sure you don't menstruate . . ." He shook his head. "I like the implants, myself. Couldn't grow a beard without 'em." He grinned. 

Boba thought for a moment. "What makes you think I'm an Ex?"

Rivet shrugged. "You look like I did as a kid. We Exes have real subtle differences, y'know? I think we look a little more like Jango Fett than the rest of the vod'e."

"Have you ever asked him?"

"Yeah, 'cause we troopers are always talking to Jango Fett." Rivet shook his head with a smile. "You're a good kid, Boba. I'll see you around."

"Okay. See you."

Boba left as soon as the medical droid was done obsessing over the scrape on his cheek. He was sure it would bruise, but not a lot could be done for that. He busied himself with games of djarik and cartoons until his father returned for dinner.

"Your cheek looks better," Jango remarked, hanging up his armor. "You visit the medbay?"

"Yeah. I went down there with a few clones."

"Did you?"

"Mm-hm." Boba paused for a moment. "Dad, do you have any tattoos?"

"I do." Jango lifted his shirt sleeve to reveal his clan insignia on his left forearm. "You know about this one."

"Uh-huh. And the Mando'a on your back."

"And what's it say?"

"Gar taldin ni jaonyc; gar sa buir, ori'wadaas'la."

"Good."

"Do you have a circle on your hip?"

Jango paused. "What makes you ask that?"

"The clones I was with today in the medbay were arguing about it."

Jango's fingers rubbed tentatively over his right hip. "About whether I had it?"

"Yeah. They all had one."

Jango sighed. "Exes, huh?"

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"I was the one who gave the order for the Kaminoans to not decommission them." Jango sat beside his son. "They're like me," he said simply. "Like us. I figured they deserved as much of a chance as we did."

"Am I gonna have to get a circle tattoo?"

Jango shrugged. "If you want one. I don't; I just get the implant. The tattoo just makes it more efficient for the med droids that work with the clones."

"Oh." Boba frowned. "Did you always get the implant?"

"Nah. Not 'til a little before you were born."

". . . Was I born?"

Jango turned to his son. "What do you mean?"

Boba shrugged. "I look like a clone. They always mistake me for one of them. They aren't born."

Jango sighed. "You're asking if you're a clone?"

Boba nodded. 

"Yeah. You're a clone. But you're not — you're not _like_ them. I didn't let the Kaminoans do anything to change you." He put a hand on Boba's shoulder. "You're my son, Bob'ika."

"I know, Dad."

"Good." Jango pulled Boba into a hug. "I love you."

"You too." Boba pulled away slightly. "I'm not Kaminoan property, am I?"

"Of course not. Never let anyone tell you that you are." Jango pressed his forehead to Boba's in a keldabe kiss. "You are Boba Fett. You are _nobody's_ property."

"I know, Dad."

"Now let's get you some food, yeah?"

Boba smiled. "Alright."


End file.
